Fronting the Main Temple is the statue of Hecate-Trevia. For centuries, Hecate was depicted as a solitary maiden, crowned with stars and bearing either a single torch or a pair of them in Her hands. Then in the 5th century BCE, the sculptor Alkamenes broke from this traditional imagery and created a statue of Her known today as Epipyrgidia for the Nike bastion of the Acropolis. This statue (possibly created as an allegorical representation of Her ancient title as the Goddess of Three Ways) portrayed Her as a triple being, facing in three directions simultaneously.
It is this later triple form that most people are familiar with today. The three directions that the Triple Hecate faces are said to give Her knowledge of all that transpires in heaven, on the earth and in the underworld. The torches She holds symbolize Her role as the both the Sotiera (or Saviour) of Mankind and like Her other symbol, the key, as the Shower of the Way to Knowledge and Redemption.
The visitor will also note that 9 lines radiate outwards from the base of the statue. These lines lead across the plaza to the various buildings and locations that house interactive locations within the Temple. One line however, is in gold and does not lead to any structure. Instead, this line travels from the northwest to the southeast and points in the direction considered sacred to Hecate: the southeast (and Her ancient homeland in Caria in Asia Minor).